Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center Foundation received a donation of $2,780 in February from Collegiate Peaks Bank.
The donation funds are allocated towards a scholarship recently renamed for longtime community member Charles âCharlieâ Forster.Â
Forster, who died in January, served as chair on the Foundation board for more than 15 years.Â
âCharlie was passionate about the hospital and the HRRMC Foundation,â said Lezlie Burkley, HRRMC Foundation Director. âWe are grateful for the contributions he made in both time and resources, and we want to give to the future of healthcare in his name.â
Two $2,500 scholarships will be awarded to current college students who plan to continue their studies in a healthcare field during the 2021 fall semester and who maintain a minimum 3.2 grade point average.Â
A visionary and leader
Itâs rare that one person could have the influence and make the community contributions that Charlie Forster had and made.
Over 35 years in the county, his efforts included:
⢠Establishing Salida Enterprise for Economic Development when he first moved here in 1985;
⢠Leading the 1986 effort to purchase the Salida SteamPlant, persuading 40 business leaders to commit to $1,000 over 10 years;
⢠Assisting with the development of the Coors Boat Ramp at the site of the D&RG bridge;
⢠Assisting with the relocation of the county fair to Poncha Springs and rebranding the fair as the âNew Olde-Fashioned Chaffee County Fair;â
Charles J. Forster died Jan. 28, 2021.
He was born April 14, 1948, in Denver, to Charles J. Forster Sr. and Violet (McClure) Forster.Â
Friends and family said he always said the business life he was exposed to from his day of birth destined him to become a businessman in his adult life.
He grew up as an inner-city kid, developing independence at an early age. He traveled Denver and the surrounding areas for the price of a bus token and transfer ticket. Â
He graduated in 1966 from West High School in Denver.Â
Friends and family said he was always convinced that a chance meeting with a dean at the University of Denver led him down the college path and his final graduation with a bachelor of science in business from DU.
Charles J. Forster, 72, died Jan. 28, 2021.
He was born April 14, 1948, in Denver, to Charles J. Forster Sr. and Violet (McClure) Forster. Â
Friends and family said he always said the âbusinessâ life he was exposed to from his day of birth destined him to become a businessman in his adult life.Â
He grew up as an inner-city kid, developing independence at an early age. He traveled Denver and the surrounding areas for the price of a bus token and transfer ticket. Â
He graduated in 1966 from West High School in Denver. Â
Friends and family said he was always convinced that a chance meeting with a dean at the University of Denver led him down the college path and his final graduation with a bachelor of science in business from DU.Â